The absolute musician

Singer Mozez explains why it has taken so long to come back on the scene

Written by Hazelann Williams
24/01/2013 05:33 PM

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FLYING SOLO: Mozez

IT HAS been a long time in the making but Osmond Wright, better known as Mozez - the one time lead singer of Zero 7 – is releasing a second solo album. Making his solo debut in 2005 with So Still, the singer’s follow-up album, The Absolute, has taken six years to complete and after much remixing and soul searching is finally ready.

According to Mozez, his album would have been finished two years ago if it wasn’t for the small fact that he didn’t like how it sounded. In fact the Jamaican-born musician admitted that he has never, To date, been happy with any album he has been on.

“The album was created four years ago, but I went to master it and I didn’t like the finished product,” said the musician.

“For me, an album needs to tell a story and when I listened to The Absolute, I didn’t get that feeling. It felt wrong on a personal level and I don’t feel the tracks worked. I’ve never been happy with an album that I have put out so far, but I’m happier with this one - now it tells a story and I feel a bit more relaxed with the message.”

Born in Clarendon, Jamaica, Mozez started singing from the age of 12 in his father’s (who was a Pentecostal minister) church. Garnering a reputation as an accomplished performer, he came to England in 1987 to peruse gospel music, but could not see a future in the genre. Four years later he deiceded to make the change to house music and has not looked back.

“I couldn’t see where I was going with gospel music, there wasn’t a thriving gospel community, but I wanted to continue doing music and I became a part of the house music scene.”

Joining Zero 7 in 1999, Mozez, along with the group, released their debut album, Simple Things which became a gold record and was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. After completing one more album with the group the singer left to peruse a solo career.

However, So Still was not the break through album he had hoped, but it has led Mozez to this current moment in time and The Absolute. Seeing this new album as a way to get back on the road and ‘push his career forward’ the singer says he is ready to tour again.

“I’ve been away form touring and I am feeling the pull to do it again.”

Hoping to encompass all of his passions in one, Mozez has dedicated many tracks and a portion of the albums profits to the Amazon rainforest.

“It is something that is close to my heart because we tend not to think about the damage that is happening to the rainforest, but we have to do something about it. My belief is, and if you listen to some of my songs you will see that, I think the rainforest is related to our lives and our existence and how we treat it.

“A lot of what I sing about is how we care for each other and the planet - if you don’t care for your home, you’re not such a good person as far as I’m concerned, because your home is the most important place you will ever have. The Absolute is intrinsically about being good to one another. I don’t want to sound too purist, but it’s important to know that if we continue on the road we are now, we are only hurting ourselves.”